‘Star Trek‘ takes on LGBTQ representation — brings first gay character to the screen

Sci-fi franchise Star Trek is entering new frontiers with pride with the release of upcoming Star Trek Beyond — where they’re going to debut their very first LGBTQ character. Better yet — the character they’ve opted to take on a coming out is none other than Hikaru Sulu — making the LGBTQ representation a queer person of colour.

For those who are unfamiliar with Star Trek, Sulu is the helmsman of the Starship Enterprise and this time he’ll be played by actor John Cho. Sulu was first brought to life onscreen back in 1966 by out-actor George Takei in the original TV series.

Though he was straight on the series way back when, in Star Trek Beyond Sulu will not only identify as gay — but he’ll be representing a healthy committed same-sex relationship with another man. The pair will also further represent by co-parenting a daughter together.

It only took 50 years. But at least they’re entering a galaxy now where the gay happens.

Some Star Trek fans may argue that the franchise has featured guest queer characters in the past — depicting some form of same-sex relationships on the screen. However, this time around will mark the very first time an LGBTQ character in the series is canonically queer. It marks a good start to better representation of the queer community on the sci-fi series.

Gaysian. Writer. Feminist. Beagle mom. Co-founder of TheFeminismProject.com. Fruit Ninja.
With all the feelings, Chloe has been doing the online journalism thing (print freelance on the side) for over a decade. From writing for TVGuide.ca after graduating from Ryerson University's Journalism program to having a lesbian dating column for TheLoop.ca to reporting pieces for The Toronto Star and most recently digital editor for Totem. She lives to write — freelancing for Curve, Xtra!, S Style, TraveLife and more. In addition to the word thing, Chloe gets her tech on as she also builds, designs and runs websites. Lately, she's also been wearing her advocacy hat as a panelist at ClexaCon at the Queer Women of Colour Representation in the Media panel. She used to serve as an executive board member for the CCNCTO and was part of organizing the first PinkDotTO march. But her heart beats within the codes of TheFeminismProject.com. Heck yeah!